| Captain Mystery |
| Summary: | Sofia asks Damon for advice about getting into a relationship with a mysterious Air Wing officer. |
| Date: | 05 Jan 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | None. |
| Players: |
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| Enlisted Berths - Naval Deck - Battlestar Cerberus |
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| Post-Holocaust Day: #313 |
| Rows and rows of bunks run along the outside and center of this room which is quite a bit larger than the Officers' Berths. With multiple hatch entrances to different sections of this area, the complex has spaces for armored doors similar to the ones on the Hangar Deck that can lower in case of fire or depressurization. Tables are set up along the spaces between the bunks and lockers divide each over-under sleeping area. Each bunk is a standard military size and has a deep blue curtain to seal in some privacy for the occupant. |
| Condition Level: 2 - Danger Close |
It's late during the daily schedule aboard the Cerberus. The Deck rotated its shifts several hours ago, and most of the knuckledraggers who came off the day shift are already fast asleep. Well, those who can sleep after what happened yesterday, anyway. Damon is awake and sitting up against the back wall of his bunk, holding the pieces of a shattered device in his hand - looks like it used to be his music player. It's in about twenty pieces now. He's turning one of the larger pieces around in his hand but his eyes aren't really focused on it.
Late late. Sofia is one of those snipes who cohabitates with the knuckledraggers. She yawns and is quietly reading. Though, she notices Damon now and sits up. There's a little smile for the Deckie, though it's tinged by sadness. "Hey…" She leans over. "How are you?" A peer. "Oh! Did you um, wanna borrow… my thingy?" Music player?
"I'm…" Damon shrugs still staring through the piece of the player in his hand. "Well, I'd be polite and tell you that I'm all right, but that'd be a lie, yeah? I'm not all right, but I don't need to talk about it." He tosses aside the fragment and gathers the pieces up into a rag, which he folds up and puts away. "Nah, I'll live without one. My own stupid fault for throwing it. How are you holding up?" He looks up and over to Sofia with a forced smile.
"You threw it?" Sofia's eyes go wide. She pouts. "Are you sure? I am okay with listening… that's what friends are for," She smiles. "Promise," She nods. "I'm - alive," She admits. "A bit freaked out still," She frowns. "Here, just borrow my player. You might like some stuff on it." She nods. "I'm really confused… about a few things but. Alive. Are you reeeeeeeeeally sure? Like gonna be cursed with 10000 years of impotence sure?"
"Well, it's just… y'know. I haven't been sleeping well before, and then Nikolai…" Damon shrugs with a slight frown. What is there to say about Nikolai? "Yeah, I kinda, uh, got into a screaming match with Petra when she came off shift and, well. I probably said stuff I shouldn't have. She definitely said stuff she shouldn't have. I got angry when she stormed out and whipped the player to the ground. Not my best moment, I'm glad you weren't here for that." He runshis fingers through his hair and rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, don't worry about me. If I talk about it right now, I'll get even more self-pitying than I already am, and that's the last thing anyone needs right now."
Sofia's a good listener. She takes a deep breath. She sets her player out for him then. "It's okay. I understand. It's tense and we've been worked to the bone," A yawn. "I need like, 8 hours of beauty sleep." No coffee for Sofia. She looks sympathetic. "Well, I'm here to listen. Or you can borrow some paper from my journal and vent there," Beam. "I like you as a friend even in your bad moments. I'm sure you've seen mine," She points out. "But if you're really bored, I am kinda confused. And wondering what to do." Eyes cross. "Also, Miss Petra seems ferocious. You're brave."
Damon allows a quiet chuckle at her description of Petra. "If I hadn't read her personnel files, I would've guessed she was from Tauron." He gestures vaguely toward his open locker, which is a currently mess of laundry and supplies. "I tried venting in a notebook and it just ended up getting… whiny, I guess. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Pyramid helps." He scoots forward in his bed until he's right on the edge of it. "What're you confused about? Maybe I can help a bit."
Sofia grins at that. "That's what the notebook is FOR, to let yourself go for a bit then come back together," She nods. She takes a deep breath. "Maybe we can get a game going. Snipes vs. Knuckledraggers," Sofia sticks her tonngue out. She grunts and sits up. "Well. It's kind of embarrassing. I feel like a giant hobag." Ho. Bag. Owch. "I'm sure you figured out about Shiner…" One eye closes, looking a bit shier at that. "He's not a bad guy. It's just a weirdly functional friends with benefits thing and I'm not sure - well, it's er -" Eh. Sigh.
"Oh. That." Damon's lips twist into a weird expression. For someone who can banter with the best of the deckhands, he's surprisingly prudish about some aspects of sex. "Yeah, he, uh, he kinda let that drop the other day. I had no idea until then. He's a good guy, y'know, I think he gets a bad rap from some people for being a bit of a joker." He watches Sofia for a moment, looking quizzical. "But… I guess it's not going so well?"
"That's not the problem," Sofia shakes her head. "He's a good guy… he's okay enough, but … he's not really a boyfriend. He likes to look at me enough," Sofia frowns. "But someone told me that they cared for me. So I think… I may have to stop with Shiner, since no one likes a two timer. Trouble is, the person who likes me is an officer. So maybe I just need a cold shower and a slap with the regs books?"
"Well…" Damon draws out, stalling while he thinks. "Which… officer? No, you don't have to tell me. I mean, it's not like officer-enlisted relationships don't happen. They're just… discreet." He coughs into his hand. "Don't take that as advice, though. I mean, how do you feel about it? Do you like this mystery officer? Do you actually want to get into a relationship with him?"
Sofia listens. "Well, Air wing, but yeah. I sort of am torn between seeing what I can do and just going and praying that I can stop feeling a bit." She wrinkles her nose. "I understand what you mean. I like him, he's very kind to me and it's refreshing to meet someone who *likes* me and not just - y'know." The Shiner relationship type. "I'm just worried about regs and getting into trouble and stuff." Her nose wrinkles. "No sense in needless brig time you know?"
Sofia adds too, "And he noticed my face first. It's a start."
Damon nods as she speaks and doesn't immediately start to talk when she finishes. Instead, he takes a moment to think it over. "When it comes down to it, Sofie, I like you and Shiner both. But you, you're like… I dunno, this might sound weird or something, but you're like a little sister to me. Or what I imagine that'd be like, since I never had a little sister. What I'm saying is, I just want you to be happy. If that means breaking things off with Shiner and trying things out with Captain Mystery, well, so be it." He snorts and shakes his head. "Frat rules are frakking stupid anyway. The worlds got nuked, and the Fleet's gonna get all picky about who's dating? Come on. He's Air Wing, you're Engineering, there's little chance for favoritism or conflict of interest."
Sofia considers. Then smiles. She laughs softly and smiles. "Hey, thanks. You're an awesome unofficial big brother." She beams at Damon. "If you ever need anything, we're here for you, okay?" She nods. She seems pleased by this though, tilting her head. "And nah doesn't sound too weird. We're practically second family," She points out. She takes a deep breath. "That's true. We decided to look up the rules though if we continue it, you know?" She looks over. "I just figured… I should hear it from someone not in the relationship. In case I was about to do something monumentally stupid."
Damon grins broadly, looking relieved that she doesn't think the brother-sister thing is weird. "Thanks. There'll definitely come a time when I need something, even if it's just someone to talk to for a few minutes, y'know?" He places his pillow behind his back so he can sit more comfortably. "This might sound silly, since I usually go with the 'ask forgiveness, not permission' school of decisions, but… did you two consider requesting permission from Command? I know that sounds frakking stupid, like you need permission to be with someone, but it might make things a lot easier if they say yes. Of course, if they say no…"
Sofia beams and grins back. "Nothing to thank me for silly," She peers down at him. "I understand totally. I'll be here, short of horrible doom," She bobs her head. She tilts her head at his comment on asking command. "That… might be a really good idea. I'll ask Mystery man," She promises. "We also wanted to maybe consult some of our legal eagles or something in case. Though like you said, different departments, end of world — it's not likely to cause conflict of interest. The closest I get to working on birds is helping Deck or with the DRADIS," She notes. "Thanks," She seems reassured. "I'm glad to know it's not weird, stupid or that I'm a giant bedswerving harpy."
"Yeah, you say it's a good idea now until Command says no for some inexplicable reason and someone's watching the two of you all the closer 'cause they know you're interested in each other," Damon says, pulling a face. "Something to think about anyway, yeah? Don't go getting brigged, I need my favorite snipe around." With a grunt, he pushes himself out of his bunk. "Just… be gentle with Shiner if it comes to that. I don't know how he'll react, but the Deck's been through a lot lately. That's all I ask. Anyway! I'm gonna see if maybe hitting the gym for a while might get me tired enough for some small amount of sleep tonight. You stay outta trouble, okay?"
Sofia rubs the back of her head. "We'll see how it goes," She nods. "I'll think about it. And I will," She pouts. "He's just - we're - it's an oddly functional friends with benefits kinda thing," One eye closes. "He's a good guy and he knows I'm his friend no matter what." She watches Damon push out of his bunk. "I'll probably be asleep. You can borrow my music thinger," She nods and yawns. "That would make you my favorite deck dude then," Nod. How many snipes really wander onto deck anyway? "It's hard. I'll visit deck a lot," She promises then settles in. Snipes need sleep.